A “Gilbert Goon,” William Hines, has been sentenced for his part in the deadly beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord.
Hines, age 19, pled guilty to manslaughter and will serve 12 years in prison.
He is the first of Preston’s teenaged attackers to be sentenced.
Preston was attending a weekend Halloween party in Queen Creek in October 2023. After a confrontation on a residential street near the party, he was severely beaten by a group of teenagers, dubbed the “Gilbert Goons,” that included Hines. Preston was treated at a local hospital but died two days later. The medical examiner later ruled his death a homicide from multiple blunt force injuries.
Six other defendants have also been charged in connection with Preston’s murder.
Hines was also sentenced for two unrelated attacks that occurred in 2022, along with a drunk driving crash in 2023. Those charges include an aggravated assault for a group attack at a different party in Queen Creek in 2022; another aggravated assault for a group attack in a restaurant parking lot in Gilbert in 2022; and a third aggravated assault when Hines caused a car crash in Gilbert in 2023.
For the alcohol-related crash, Hines will serve five years in prison to be served consecutively to the manslaughter charge. In all, including the charge for Preston’s death, Hines will serve a total of 17 years in prison followed by another three years of probation.
“William Hines has shown us through not just one, but a series of acts, that he is unfit for society,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “The fact that he inflicted harm on other victims did not give him pause as he continued his escalation that ended in the death of Preston Lord. Prison is the only appropriate outcome, and there is still more work to be done.”
In response to Preston’s death and a rise in cases of group attacks involving teenagers, County Attorney Mitchell worked with State Representative Matt Gress to write “Preston’s Law.” House Bill 2611 would toughen penalties for swarming-style attacks by three or more individuals against one person. It creates a new crime category called “swarming,” which, if signed by the Governor, would be a class four felony. This new category would deter these types of group attacks by ensuring they are not charged as misdemeanors. The bill is awaiting a final vote in the Arizona House before it is sent to the Governor’s desk.
Prison isn’t enough. He helped kill a child. Unless that child was involved in criminal activity, the appropriate penalty is to stretch rope. He can do hard labor until his appeals are processed in 1 to 5 years, max.
I pray that Hines and all of them involved with this horrendous crime, will get long prison sentences and prison room mates named Bubba or Big Dick!